Four projects to provide high-speed internet for rural areas in Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota and Mississippi are receiving $63 million in grants from the third funding round of a U.S. Department of Agriculture program.
This funding comes from the third round of the ReConnect Program, and the USDA invested a total of $3.2 billion since the program's inception. The investment is part of President Joe Biden's $65 billion initiative to bring reliable and affordable internet access to all communities across the U.S., a news release said.
“Investing in high-speed internet is a fundamental part of our partnership with rural communities,” USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack said in the release. “Connecting rural Americans with reliable internet brings new and innovative ideas to the rest of our country.”
Projects receiving grant funding through the ReConnect Program to provide “fiber-to-the premises” networks are McDonough Telephone Cooperative, $18 million for providing high-speed internet in Warren, McDonough, Hancock and Henderson counties; Alpha Enterprises Limited Inc., $19.5 million for Chippewa and Mackinac counties in Michigan; Paul Bunyan Rural Telephone Cooperative, $10 million grant for Hubbard, Itasca and St. Louis counties in Minnesota; and Uplink Internet LLC, $15 million grant for Coahoma, Quitman and Tunica counties in Mississippi, the release reported.
Applicants for the ReConnect Program “must serve an area that lacks access to service at speeds of 100 megabits per second (Mbps) (download) and 20 Mbps (upload),” the release said.
"Under the leadership of President Biden and Vice President Harris, USDA is committed to ensuring that the people who make up the rich tapestry in rural areas have every opportunity to succeed – and that people can find those opportunities right at home in their communities,” Vilsack added, according to the release.
